{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T17:38:43Z","timestamp":1778693923809,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,12]],"date-time":"2026-01-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768176000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Journal of Computer Security"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    The texts \"only boats catch connotes ...\" and \"in the research area of text steganography ....\" were not coloured in section 6 (Experimental Evaluation) as in the original manuscript.This article introduces a paradigm-shifting approach to text steganography that fundamentally redefines the capacity limits of covert communication through the synergistic integration of combinatorial color optimization and Huffman compression. By exploiting the combinatorial richness of the 24-bit RGB color space enhanced with lossless compression, we present a framework that achieves unprecedented embedding capabilities\u2014reaching up to 400% effective capacity, representing a 17.9\n                    <jats:inline-formula>\n                      <mml:math xmlns:mml=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" display=\"inline\" overflow=\"scroll\">\n                        <mml:mo>\u00d7<\/mml:mo>\n                      <\/mml:math>\n                    <\/jats:inline-formula>\n                    improvement over state-of-the-art permutation-based method (Sadie et al., 2023) for\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">n<\/jats:italic>\n                    <jats:inline-formula>\n                      <mml:math xmlns:mml=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" display=\"inline\" overflow=\"scroll\">\n                        <mml:mo>=<\/mml:mo>\n                      <\/mml:math>\n                    <\/jats:inline-formula>\n                    10 colors. Our methodology combines optimal color subset selection from 16.7 million possibilities with hybrid combinatorial\u2013permutational encoding and Huffman compression, creating exponential growth in steganographic potential while maintaining format compatibility with standard communication channels. Theoretical analysis confirms\n                    <jats:inline-formula>\n                      <mml:math xmlns:mml=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" display=\"inline\" overflow=\"scroll\">\n                        <mml:mrow>\n                          <mml:mi mathvariant=\"script\">O<\/mml:mi>\n                        <\/mml:mrow>\n                        <mml:mo stretchy=\"false\">(<\/mml:mo>\n                        <mml:mo stretchy=\"false\">(<\/mml:mo>\n                        <mml:msup>\n                          <mml:mn>2<\/mml:mn>\n                          <mml:mn>24<\/mml:mn>\n                        <\/mml:msup>\n                        <mml:msup>\n                          <mml:mo stretchy=\"false\">)<\/mml:mo>\n                          <mml:mrow>\n                            <mml:mi>k<\/mml:mi>\n                            <mml:mi>n<\/mml:mi>\n                          <\/mml:mrow>\n                        <\/mml:msup>\n                        <mml:mo stretchy=\"false\">)<\/mml:mo>\n                      <\/mml:math>\n                    <\/jats:inline-formula>\n                    complexity scaling with only 12% compression overhead, while experimental validation demonstrates practical implementation achieving 350 to 400% capacity with only 5 to 8% cover text modification. The compression-enhanced scheme establishes new benchmarks for high-capacity steganography, offering robust security against statistical detection through dynamic palette selection, adaptive encoding strategies, and compression-induced entropy redistribution. This work represents a significant advancement in digital covert communication, providing a scalable, efficient solution for modern security requirements while enhancing both capacity and undetectability beyond existing text-based steganographic systems.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/0926227x251411812","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,12]],"date-time":"2026-01-12T18:03:17Z","timestamp":1768240997000},"page":"139-190","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["High embedding capacity text steganography using optimal color combinations from 24-bit space"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"34","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-2165-7949","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"St\u00e9phane Willy","family":"Mossebo Tcheunteu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Yaounde I"},{"name":"IRD, UMI, 209, IRD France Nord, Sorbonne Universit\u00e9, Bondy, France"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Herv\u00e9","family":"Tal\u00e9 Kalachi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Yaounde 1"},{"name":"LITIS, UR, Rouen, France"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8094-8832","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"St\u00e9phane Gael","family":"Raymond Ekodeck","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Yaounde I"},{"name":"IRD, UMI, 209, IRD France Nord, Sorbonne Universit\u00e9, Bondy, France"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Leonel","family":"Moyou Metcheka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IRD, UMI, 209, IRD France Nord, Sorbonne Universit\u00e9, Bondy, France"},{"name":"PKFokam Institute of Excellence"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jean Marsien","family":"Ayemidie Moto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Yaounde I"},{"name":"IRD, UMI, 209, IRD France Nord, Sorbonne Universit\u00e9, Bondy, France"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1105-762X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ren\u00e9","family":"Ndoundam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Yaounde I"},{"name":"IRD, UMI, 209, IRD France Nord, Sorbonne Universit\u00e9, Bondy, France"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Badhan A Malhi SS. Enhancing data security with hybrid cryptography and steganography. In: 2024 2nd International conference on advances in computation communication and information technology (ICAICCIT) Vol. 1 pp.1247\u20131252. IEEE.","DOI":"10.1109\/ICAICCIT64383.2024.10912267"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","article-title":"Blockchain-based ciphertext-policy attribute-based encryption for controlled multi-user collaboration","volume":"37","author":"Zhang Z","year":"2025","unstructured":"Zhang Z, Wu D, Zhu Q, et al. Blockchain-based ciphertext-policy attribute-based encryption for controlled multi-user collaboration. Concurrency Comput: Pract Exper 2025; 37: e70093.","journal-title":"Concurrency Comput: Pract Exper"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","article-title":"An approach for mitigating cognitive load in password management by integrating qr codes and steganography","volume":"7","author":"Balayogi KSKG","year":"2024","unstructured":"Balayogi KSKG. An approach for mitigating cognitive load in password management by integrating qr codes and steganography. Sec Privacy 2024; 7: e447.","journal-title":"Sec Privacy"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","first-page":"149","article-title":"A crypto-steganography: a survey","volume":"5","author":"Rahmani MKI","year":"2014","unstructured":"Rahmani MKI, Arora K, Pal N. A crypto-steganography: a survey. Int J Adv Comput Sci Appl 2014; 5: 149\u2013155.","journal-title":"Int J Adv Comput Sci Appl"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Moskowitz IS Chang L Newman RE. Capacity is the wrong paradigm. In: Proceedings of the 2002 workshop on New security paradigms 2002 pp.114\u2013126.","DOI":"10.1145\/844102.844124"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Krishnan RB Thandra PK Baba MS. An overview of text steganography. In: 2017 Fourth international conference on signal processing communication and networking (ICSCN) 2017 pp.1\u20136. IEEE.","DOI":"10.1109\/ICSCN.2017.8085643"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mishra S Yadav VK Trivedi MC et al. Audio steganography techniques: a survey. In: Advances in computer and computational sciences 2018 pp.581\u2013589. Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-981-10-3773-3_56"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/cpe.4971"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11042-025-21128-y"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2025.3538633"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13677-020-00208-4"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13677-021-00258-2"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compeleceng.2017.08.020"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_15_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TCSVT.2019.2896270"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_16_2","unstructured":"Singh H Singh PK Saroha K. A survey on text based steganography. In: Proceedings of the 3rd national conference 2009 Vol. 3 pp.332\u2013335. Bharati Vidyapeeth\u2019s Institute of Computer Applications and Management."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_17_2","unstructured":"Por LY Delina B. Information hiding: a new approach in text steganography. In: WSEAS international conference. Proceedings. Mathematics and computers in science and engineering 2008 Vol. 7. World Scientific and Engineering Academy and Society."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_18_2","first-page":"72","article-title":"A high capacity text steganography scheme based on LZW compression and color coding","volume":"20","author":"Malik A","year":"2017","unstructured":"Malik A, Sikka G, Verma HK. A high capacity text steganography scheme based on LZW compression and color coding. Eng Sci Technol 2017; 20: 72\u201379.","journal-title":"Eng Sci Technol"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_19_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sadi\u00e9 JK Metcheka LM Ndoundam R. Two high capacity text steganography schemes based on color coding. In: Conference on research in computer science 2023 pp.166\u2013179. Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-031-63110-8_14"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_20_2","first-page":"1","article-title":"Pdf steganography based on chinese remainder theorem","volume":"29","author":"Ekodeck SGR","year":"2016","unstructured":"Ekodeck SGR, Ndoundam R. Pdf steganography based on chinese remainder theorem. J Inform Sec Appl 2016; 29: 1\u201315.","journal-title":"J Inform Sec Appl"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_21_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.protcy.2013.12.343"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_22_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2022.3182712"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_23_2","first-page":"14787","article-title":"Message hiding technique in text steganography using rgb colour approach and random location","volume":"83","author":"Osman B","year":"2020","unstructured":"Osman B. Message hiding technique in text steganography using rgb colour approach and random location. TEST Eng Manag 2020; 83: 14787\u201314795.","journal-title":"TEST Eng Manag"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_24_2","first-page":"1","article-title":"A multi-layer hybrid text steganography for secret communication using word tagging and rgb color coding","volume":"10","author":"Al-Azzawi AF","year":"2018","unstructured":"Al-Azzawi AF. A multi-layer hybrid text steganography for secret communication using word tagging and rgb color coding. Int J Network Sec Its Appl (IJNSA) Vol 2018; 10: 1\u201312.","journal-title":"Int J Network Sec Its Appl (IJNSA) Vol"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_25_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kumar R Malik A Singh S et al. A high capacity email based text steganography scheme using huffman compression. In: 2016 3rd International conference on signal processing and integrated networks (SPIN) 2016 pp.53\u201356. IEEE.","DOI":"10.1109\/SPIN.2016.7566661"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_26_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.20967\/jcscm.2018.03.002"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_27_2","first-page":"73","article-title":"Secure mobile computing authentication utilizing hash, cryptography and steganography combination","volume":"2","author":"Alotaibi M","year":"2019","unstructured":"Alotaibi M, Al-hendi D, Alroithy B, et al. Secure mobile computing authentication utilizing hash, cryptography and steganography combination. J Inform Sec Cyber Res 2019; 2: 73\u201382.","journal-title":"J Inform Sec Cyber Res"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_28_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s13369-021-05605-8"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_29_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11042-019-08025-x"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_30_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s43995-025-00134-z"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_31_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11042-020-09667-y"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_32_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jer.2023.100099"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_33_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jksuci.2018.02.006"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_34_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s13369-020-04917-5"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_35_2","first-page":"151","article-title":"2-layer security system for hiding sensitive text data on personal computers","volume":"2","author":"Al-Otaibi NA","year":"2014","unstructured":"Al-Otaibi NA, Gutub AA. 2-layer security system for hiding sensitive text data on personal computers. Lect Notes Inform Theory 2014; 2: 151\u2013157.","journal-title":"Lect Notes Inform Theory"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_36_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/00029890.2000.12005235"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_37_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0020-0190(01)00141-7"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_38_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Huanhuan H Xin Z Weiming Z et al. Adaptive text steganography by exploring statistical and linguistical distortion. In: 2017 IEEE Second international conference on data science in cyberspace (DSC) 2017 pp.145\u2013150. IEEE.","DOI":"10.1109\/DSC.2017.16"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_39_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cachin C. An information-theoretic model for steganography. In: International workshop on information hiding 1998 pp.306\u2013318. Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/3-540-49380-8_21"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_40_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Klimt B Yang Y. The enron corpus: a new dataset for email classification research. In: European conference on machine learning 2004 pp.217\u2013226. Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-540-30115-8_22"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_41_2","unstructured":"Clement CB Bierbaum M O\u2019Keeffe KP et al. On the use of arxiv as a dataset. arXiv preprint arXiv:190500075 2019."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_42_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mackenzie J Benham R Petri M et al. Cc-news-en: a large english news corpus. In: Proceedings of the 29th ACM international conference on information & knowledge management 2020 pp.3077\u20133084.","DOI":"10.1145\/3340531.3412762"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_43_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Aziz B Bukhelli A. Detecting the manipulation of text structure in text steganography using machine learning. In: Proceedings of the 19th international conference on web information systems and technologies 2023. SCITEPRESS-Science and Technology Publications.","DOI":"10.5220\/0012260900003584"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_44_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TASLP.2023.3319975"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_45_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/LSP.2019.2920452"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_46_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/LSP.2019.2895286"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_47_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/LSP.2021.3097241"}],"container-title":["Journal of Computer Security"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/0926227X251411812","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/0926227X251411812","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/0926227X251411812","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]],"date-time":"2026-04-29T20:45:57Z","timestamp":1777495557000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/0926227X251411812"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,12]]},"references-count":46,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/0926227X251411812"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0926227x251411812","relation":{},"ISSN":["0926-227X","1875-8924"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0926-227X","type":"print"},{"value":"1875-8924","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,12]]}}}